Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fluid mixing meter and more specifically it relates to a fluid metering system for accurately and consistently mixing two or more fluids together.
Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Mixing two or more fluids together in an accurate ratio is required in many different applications such as, but not limited to, treating water used in the oil drilling industry. One example of water used in the oil drilling industry involves where water is injected into an oil well to dilute salt water that exists in the oil well. To further the example, a water pump may be activated for 10 minutes to inject water into the oil well, deactivated for 23 minutes, activated again for 10 minutes and so forth in a cycling manner based on the set parameters for the oil well. It is important to chemically treat the water prior to injection into the well with liquid chemicals such as, but not limited to, scale inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, desalination chemicals, biocides and various other liquid additives. Often times the chemicals added to the water are in very small amounts such as 5 parts per million (ppm) to over 1,000 ppm. It is important to ensure that the minimum required amount of chemical is added to the water while at the same time preventing excessive chemical usage.
One conventional system for dosing the water used in oil wells utilizes conventional chemical metering pumps that dispense small doses of chemical into the water. A conventional metering pump may be comprised of various types of pumps (e.g. piston pumps) that discharge a desired flow rate of liquid chemical when averaged over time within a discharge pressure range.
However, conventional metering pumps are inherently inaccurate thereby requiring the operator to set the metering pump to a chemical input level that exceeds the desired ratio of chemical per water. The excess chemical is wasted resulting in extra unnecessary expense to the operator and potentially damaging the environment.
Another problem with conventional metering pumps is that they are prone to air lock resulting in no chemical being added to the water. When no chemical is added to the water for a period of time, damage to the oil well equipment can occur because of salt accumulation and corrosion.
Another problem with conventional metering pumps is they are not designed to adjust to the flow rate of water which may change over time. In addition, the flow rate of chemical emitted by the conventional metering pumps may also change over time resulting in increased or decreased chemical added to the water.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved fluid metering system for accurately and consistently mixing two or more fluids together.